Category: Weather

Looks like today (September 20) is going to be the last day of summer, temperature-wise (91°F) here in north Texas. Unless the weather folks have cocked it up completely, temps are dropping into the 70s over the weekend (with autumn showers coming in), and it seems unlikely that the mercury will climb much over 80°F even after the showers have gone.

Yes, British- and Euro Readers: a daytime high temperature in the high 70s and low 80s (22-27 in your stupid Celsius thing) is what passes for autumn Over Here. You may now eat your livers.

At least we’ll henceforth be spared the stench of lizards frying on the sidewalks. Until next May, that is.

I am SO glad summer has passed. Even by our standards, it was a monster.

I spoke a couple of days back about how England’s Green & Pleasant has turned into Brown & Hellish (and no, I’m not talking about their immigration problem, but their equally-problematic weather this year).

What many people seem to have forgotten is that earlier in the year Britain was gripped by an incredible winter storm — the so-called “Beast from the East” which practically froze the entire country solid.

So I invite you to go here and swipe the pictures right to left and vice-versa, just to make the comparison. (I like the feature, by the way.)

The first time the Son&Heir laid eyes on Britishland, it was after a night-time flight from Dallas. As the sun was coming up, he saw the countryside around The Englishman’s Castle (Wiltshire), and his exclamation of: “Look! It’s the Shire! Where’s Pippin’s house?” has since passed into family lore. Here’s a pic of The Englishman’s estate, taken from a nearby hill:

Lately, however, that same view of England’s green and pleasant land looks more like North Texas (except for the horse):

Needless to say, every July in North Texas we generally describe our heat as “sitting inside with the a/c on and a cold drink in hand, watching the lawn die” because for this area, our natural climate is drought; but it has to be an alien feeling for the Brits, who are drinking nettle tea [sic] to help cope with the heat. (I spoke to Mr. Free Market early yesterday morning, and [cue apocalyptic music] he’s actually had to resort to putting ice in his whisky, so bad have things become Over There.)

Of course, come October when we Texans will still be experiencing temperatures in the 90s, the Brits will no doubt be complaining about their fall’s damp chill, and they’ll be booking flights to Spain or Portugal where the weather will be exactly like it is now in Britishland.

Some people are never satisfied.

Still, it must be alarming for people accustomed to verdant green countryside such as this:

…to be suddenly exposed to this:

Oh, and one last thought: this isn’t “climate change”: it’s weather. Talk to me again when the weather’s been like this in Britain for fifty summers in a row, and we can then state with some degree of certainty that the climate is changing.